Interesting... forks aren't inverted. There seems to be some discrepancy about whether it is 45kw or 52kw (60 or 70hp). About 41ft-lbs of torque. Definitely looks better with the girl in leathers on the back... So are you allowed to give a recap on the bike's riding characteristics?

And that is a good pic for a Christmas card. How long before the knees were completely torn through?

Interesting... forks aren't inverted. There seems to be some discrepancy about whether it is 45kw or 52kw (60 or 70hp). About 41ft-lbs of torque. Definitely looks better with the girl in leathers on the back... So are you allowed to give a recap on the bike's riding characteristics?

And that is a good pic for a Christmas card. How long before the knees were completely torn through?

Knees on the suit were gone by end of Lap 1. Pretty sure the pic must have been taken during the first lap - the pants were actually in tatters by the end of that race. I had to get special dispensation from the Clerk of the Course to race with the suit over my leathers.

The bike surprised me. I was half expecting a hopeless bouncy castle with no brakes, but it was much better than that.

Definitely closer to 60 or 70bhp, having jumped straight off my race SV onto this bike. It's no slug, but it doesn't have the torque of the SV. Revs out nicely, though.

Suspension is a bit soft - especially at the front - but by no means a disaster. The strong points of the bike are it's chassis geometry - beautifully stable and trustworthy - and decent front brakes that simply refuse to fade, even after many racing pace laps.

I actually had a ball on the bike, and I thought it was surprisingly capable for a bog-standard Chinese road bike. I had fears the brakes would go away or the engine would overheat, but the bike raced hard all weekend without missing a beat.

Over here they cost $5,900 brand new. I imagine that stateside they'd cost a fraction of that price. An interesting little package.